Sydney, Australia: Park Regis City Centre

Our trip to Australia came at a time when the American dollar was weaker than the Australian dollar, an economic historical oddity, and in fact several Aussies asked us what we thought about it and many cruise passengers spoke about how expensive everything seemed to be in Sydney. Certainly, the weak dollar always makes travel more expensive, but Julie and I tend to seek less expensive alternatives regardless of where we are, so we didn't find the prices affected us much, especially because we had booked our hotel in advance through one of my preferred vendors, Travel Bound.

I like Travel Bound for a number of reasons, one of which is that they quote a bottom line price that includes the taxes in American dollars. Our hotel, the Park Regis City Centre, was $160 per night for two nights, which was a great deal for a central location and comfortable room. It's a three star property that has received uneven reviews, but I think travelers sometimes have unrealistic expectations in big cities outside of the US.

The lobby is kind of non-descript and certainly not impressive, and our room had been recently painted but certainly wasn't state of the art, but it was clean, well-maintained and had a comfortable bed with fresh linens in a great location, so I was stoked. If you wonder why I usually recommend four and five star properties for you, it is because people always remember the quality long after they forget the price, and there's a reason those premium hotels receive higher rankings.

Our price didn't include breakfast, but there was a coffee house next door and, even more attractive to us, a McDonald's across the street. Our kids make fun of us for loving McDonald's (shouldn't it be the other way around?), but I love seeing those Golden Arches in a foreign country (or while making an early morning drive to visit friends locally). In fact, I love them so much that I have McDonald's stock in my IRA, often joking that I am checking in on my company whenever I eat there. McDonald's adapts to the local tastes, and in Australia they had a morph of the Egg McMuffin with tomato and barbecue sauce on a Brekkie roll that was unique and tasty. They also had a separate bakery which offered a terrific carrot bran muffin and gourmet coffee.

The Park Regis has a rooftop pool and viewing area 45 stories above the ground, with a couch and coffee table, so we ate our breakfast with panoramic views of the city. So, even though the prices at McDonald's were two or three times as high as at the Ortega Highway off the 405, we still had a great breakfast at a panoramic rooftop venue. By comparison, many people we encountered on the cruise spoke of unsatisfactory $40 breakfasts and outrageously expensive hotels.